Every victim has the right, on request, to information about (a) the criminal justice system and the role of victims in it; (b) the services and programs available to them as a victim, including restorative justice programs; and (c) their right to file a complaint for an infringement or denial of any of their rights under this Act.
Canadian Victims Bill of Rights

Dr. D. Scharie Tavcer, Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University
Areas of Scholarship & research
- Feminist lens to understanding crime, social disorder, and the criminal justice system.
- Intersectional examination of gendered-violence, sexual violence, and interpersonal violence.
- Criminalized people and the challenges they face reintegrating into the community.
- Trauma informed care and practices.
- Occupational stress injuries in justice workers.
- Criminal law and sentencing.
Newly added as a Research Associate with the University of Guelph Centre for the Study of Social and Legal Responses to Violence.
Education & experience
- Doctorate in Sociology, major in Criminology (2007) with the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law and the Albert-Ludwigs Universität both in Freiburg, Germany.
- Masters of European Criminology (2000) with the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Leuven, Belgium.
- Prior to a career in academia, Dr. Tavcer worked for the Correctional Services of Canada in Alberta and British Columbia, as a parole officer, correctional worker, and program therapist in a violent offender treatment program.
- Dr. Tavcer has served as secretary on the Board of Directors with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Calgary; as a researcher and advocate in various projects with the United Way of Calgary & Area, the Prostitution Awareness & Action Foundation of Edmonton, the Shift Program, RESET Society (formerly the Servants Anonymous Society of Calgary), Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter, and the Justice Sector Constellation of the Poverty Reduction Coalition of Calgary.

Women and the Criminal Justice System: A Canadian Perspective, 2nd Ed.
Currently available from Emond Publishing. The 3rd edition is underway with e-book and print versions expected Fall 2022. Women and the Criminal Justice System: A

“Good People with Good Intentions”: Deconstructing a Post-Secondary Institution’s Sexual Violence Policy Construction
New research by Dr. Irene Shankar and Dr. D. Scharie Tavcer finds that despite members’ intentions, the committees that construct post-secondary institutions’ sexual violence policies lack

Sexual Consent Education at Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions
Dr. Tavcer asks what can be done differently to reduce the prevalence of sexual violence on campus, especially in the face of dwindling budgets and

An Introduction to Criminal Law: A textbook for criminal justice students from Oxford University Press
Expected publication: 2022 in print and ebook editions. The idea for this text grew from my years of teaching in an undergraduate criminal justice degree

I’m tired of talking about consent
For years I have studied sexual violence. It’s an issue that divides people in the room. Whenever I tell folx what I research they either

Sexual Consent Education at Canadian PSIs
Are you interested in sexual consent education? I am conducting a study with universities across Canada and I want to hear from YOU: students from